


The Apartment on Hallow Street

by RiddleOfTheRaven



Category: D.Gray-man
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Alternate Universe - Urban Fantasy, Doesn't actually get that dark for awhile, Gen, Ghosts, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rating is for language and violence later on, Some unimportant OCs - Freeform, Summary subject to change, Supernatural Elements, Vampires, Werewolves
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-16
Updated: 2018-07-11
Packaged: 2019-05-21 14:57:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14917508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RiddleOfTheRaven/pseuds/RiddleOfTheRaven
Summary: "You're the one that's always gravitating towards trouble," Lavi said with a fond smile and a shake of his head. "I swear, it's like living with an occult-magnet."For Lenalee Lee, the definition of "normal" has changed over the last year and a half. Before, normal was dealing with her crazy-protective older brother, and getting grades that would get her into a good college. Normal was being the girl that was looked at with pity for losing her parents at a young age.Then, she met Lavi and Kanda, who turned her view of the world completely on its head. Now, normal is worrying whether her friend would survive the next full moon, and hoping that her other friend will make it back before the sun rises to turn him to ash. Normal is encountering creatures normally found in novels and nightmares, and dealing with those who prey upon humanity from its darkest corners. All in between studying for her college midterms, of course.Apparently, her new normal is also befriending a wayward and lonely spirit who doesn't really know how to belong anywhere.In other words, another modern, supernatural AU.





	1. Chapter 1

"Lavi, could you close the window? You're letting the rain in."  
  
The young man in question blinked at her from the passenger's seat, single green eye wide and deceptively innocent. His red hair was messy and damp from the drizzle outside, which was also steadily soaking the interior of Lenalee's car, much to her exasperation. The window was halfway open, and the wind was strong enough to mess up her hair in addition to his.  
  
"But it's so stuffy in here," Lavi whined, scrunching up his nose in distaste. "Did you put one of those gross air freshener things in here? It smells like formaldehyde. Eugh."  
  
"Better than the smell of burning hair," Lenalee told him with a roll of her eyes. "Maybe you should think about that next time you and Kanda need to move a body."  
  
"Aw, come on, Lena. Way to make it sound like we're serial killers or something."

The dark-haired girl took her eyes off the road to raise a dubious eyebrow at her roommate. That was an...interesting way of putting it, for sure. He shrugged in response, but his playful smile turned to a look of horror when he turned back toward the front.

"Whoa, shit Lena! Brakes! Brakes!"

Lenalee slammed the brakes to avoid rear-ending the Civic in front of them, Lavi barely able to avoid smacking his delicate nose into the dashboard. He shot his friend a miserable glare. "I hate this," he whimpered. "Between your psycho driving and this hazmat-scented Febreze, I think I'm gonna hurl."  
  
"Okay, first of all, it's Glade and it's called ' _Fresh_ _Linen,_ '" she defended. "Second, quit being so dramatic. Next time you guys want to dispose of gross dismembered necromancer parts, you can take Kanda's car. Straight or turn?"

Lavi pouted. "Left at this next light."  
  
Lenalee smirked at his antics and, after she'd made the turn, rolled the window up from her own side.  
  
"So, tell me again about this new place," she suggested.  
  
Lavi hummed and tilted his head in thought, cheered by the sudden change in topic. "I think it fits the three of us pretty perfectly. Like, we'd each get our own bedroom, and there's one that doesn't even have any windows! So, no worries about having a big pile of dust as a roomie, ya know?"  
  
Lenalee almost choked at the image. "Lavi!" she cried, reaching over to smack him on the arm. He laughed impishly. He was joking, of course, but Lenalee had found herself nevertheless protective of her boys, and sunlight was a very real threat to Kanda.  
  
"Hey! I'm just sayin' that it's awesome. And not just 'cause we're basically at the bottom of our options list," the young man quipped as he pointed out a rust-colored brick building on their right side. "So this is pretty much it. Oh hey! Looks like the landlady's here already!"  
  
"Closer to the university than the last place," she noted. As Lenalee pulled into one of the small parking spots, she followed Lavi's one-eyed gaze toward the petite blonde woman huddled away from the rain under the eves of the building in front of the doors. The redhead got out and waved, and once the building's owner spotted him, her face broke out into a wide smile.  
  
Lenalee took in the building's structure as she also stepped out of the car. It wasn't a large complex like their last one; it looked to be four stories tall, with windows but no balconies. The brick was cracked in some places, but it looked altogether safe, and even cozy.  
  
"Oh, my. You have beautiful eyes," the woman said to her suddenly as they approached. "Are they natural?"  
  
Lenalee, startled, could only blink those amethyst eyes and stammer out an, "Um. Yes."  
  
Lavi, sensing his friend's discomfort at the question, took the reins of the conversation with a pleasant smile. Lenalee smiled at him gratefully. "Miss Rivers, this is my roommate, Lenalee Lee."

"Oh! Miss Lee! Yes, Lavi's told me a lot about you. And you live with...one other person, if I remember correctly?"

Lavi nodded. "Yeah, his name's Yuu Kanda. A real sweetheart. He couldn't make it today, unfortunately."

"Oh, it's totally understandable! The process should go smoothly regardless. I've had a chance to go over all of your previous rentals, and everything seems great."  
  
Lenalee paused, because that ws the part that usually made landlords hurry them out the door. "Er, are you sure? I know we have a bit of a...colorful history."  
  
Rivers flipped through her clipboard as Lavi shot her a dirty look. "Oh, no worries. Nothing in there looks too bad. Noise violations and the like are no biggie. Your last..." she squinted at the papers in her hand. "Your last residence was damaged in a fire?"

Lavi answered with a nervous laugh. "Oh, it was the whole building that burned down, so it wasn't like it was  _our_ fault or anything!"

"...alright! Then I see no problem there."  
  
Lenalee knew for a fact that she hadn't contacted their previous landlords. They would have something very different to say. Far be it from her, however, to draw any more attention to it. "...fair enough?"  
  
"Anyways, Lavi mentioned that you'd like to see around the place before making a final decision?"  
  
"Ah, yes, if it's no trouble."  
  
"Not at all!"  
  
And so, the young woman led them through the doors and up the stairs. The whole building was small; there was only four stories, with two apartments on each floor. The doors to each apartment led directly to the stairwell, with bronze metal numbers adorning each. The group ascended until they reached apartment number four, and Rivers opened the door with one of the keys on her ring.  
  
Lenalee resisted the urge to whistle as they walked through the front door. She and Kanda had agreed to leave the apartment hunting to Lavi, but Lenalee hadn't realized how capable the young man would be at it. She knew from experience that the redhead's taste was...eclectic, to say the least, but the apartment itself looked beautiful. The walls were painted a soft gray-white, and the sofa was a tasteful denim color, which paired nicely with the brown carpet. There was an open kitchen right off of the living room with a bar counter, and on the opposite side was a hallway that led to three small bedrooms.  
  
The landlord was going on about the features of the place, but Lenalee was only half-listening. Apparently, the furniture was new and came with the place; it only made the price more unbelievable. Maybe it was Kanda's abrasive cynicism rubbing off on her, but it seemed almost...too good?  
  
"...and the carpet is all brand new! Isn't that great? No stains," the landlord was saying.  
  
"What's wrong with it?" Lenalee asked suddenly. She grunted as Lavi drove his elbow into her side, and glared at the young man. The redhead gave her a honey-sweet grin that also somehow said  _'don't do it. Don't fucking do it.'_  
  
The landlord didn't seem to notice the exchange, or at least pretended not to. "Oh, there's nothing really wrong with it. The old tenant just recently broke their lease, unfortunately," she repeated. "It actually hasn't even been on the market for very long, so I was surprised when you guys contacted us. What a great steal, right?"  
  
"That's great," Lavi chirped with a grin that Lenalee almost, _almost,_ couldn't tell was forced. "Isn't that great, Lena? It sounds like our lucky day."  
  
While, the redhead was usually cheerful and charismatic around strangers, he seemed to really be laying it on thick in this case. When it came down to it, though, regardless of her teasing, she trusted him. "Do you guys have a pet policy?" She asked with a pointed smugness. Lavi looked at her in surprise, but it quickly turned into a playful glare.  
  
"Oh! Of course! Should I draw up the rest of the paperwork?"  
  
"Yeah, I think we'll take it."  
  
"Wonderful! I'll be right back. I'm sure there'll be no problem, though. It's really only a formality."  
  
When the cheery woman left the apartment, Lenalee looked at her roommate oddly. Lavi's smile faded, only to be replaced with a look of confusion. "What?"  
  
"You seem awfully trusting of her. Doesn't she seem a little... _too_ eager to you?"  
  
"Lena, I've been doing this for three days straight," her roommate said, voice grave. He gripped Lenalee by the shoulders, and the green eye that was uncovered by his eyepatch was wide. "And one of those was with Kanda. Do you know how  _hard_  it is to go apartment hunting with  _Kanda_?"  
  
The image of the long-haired man throttling a poor landlord for looking at him too long materialized in her head. "Okay, okay! I'm sure it's nothing. This place is fine," Lenalee laughed.  
  
"It better be. Trust me, this isn't even the worst landlord I've run into. Did she really ask if your eyes were real?"  
  
Lenalee laughed. "Yeah, that was pretty rude, wasn't it?"  
  
"Even still, with histories like ours, I'd be surprised if anyone else let us rent. Ya gotta admit that we're pretty shitty tenants. Even though it's mostly your fault," he added with a mischievous gleam in his eye.

"What? What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're the one that's always gravitating towards trouble," Lavi said with fond smile and a shake of his head. "I swear, it's like living with an occult-magnet."  
  
"I am _not_ an occult-magnet!" she defended, before sighing in resignation. "But you've got a point, and this place  _is_  pretty perfect. I guess we can move in tonight, and tomorrow I'll pick some stuff up for the place. Text Kanda the address?"  
  
"Sweet~!" Lavi cheered. "You know, we should celebrate. What d'ya say to smoothies?"  
  
Lenalee laughed. "You'd celebrate anything with smoothies."  
  
"Well, _duh._ And that's a yes!"  
  
"We've gotta pick up the paperwork and keys first, you dork. Did you see any places on the way over?" The young woman asked, but her roommate had halted in place, silent. "Lavi?"  
  
Her friend didn't seem to have heard. His one-eyed gaze was fixed down the hallway. Lenalee followed it with her own eyes, but she couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. Puzzled, she waved a hand in front of the redhead's face. "Lavi...?"  
  
"Hm?" Lavi looked at her again.  
  
"Is everything alright? You spaced out there for a sec."  
  
"Yeah, I just..." he murmured, eye still a bit vacant. She watched the moment pass, confused, as the older boy locked his green eye on hers, and he grinned. "Nevermind. Yeah, I'm good. So, smoothies?"  
  
Lenalee didn't say anything as her roommate linked his arm with hers and led her to the door, still disconcerted by the momentary change in demeanor.  
  
As the door swung closed, a lean figure peeked through the mouth of the hallway, silver eyes wide with curiosity. His form flickered in and out of existence, like static electricity. "Did he just...? No. Of course not," he murmured quietly, shaking his head. "That was just...odd."

* * *

**9:24pm**

**> Heyyyy yuu**

**> Yuuuchan**

**> Babe i need 2 talk 2 uu**

**9:28pm**

**> I told you to stop calling me that.**

**> What the fuck do you want, mutt.**

**9:28pm**

**> We got the aptmt \\(^o^)/**

**> Do u get off work soon?**

**> Yuuchan?**

**9:31pm**

**> I just got here, moron.**

**9:31pm**

**> Soooo...**

**9:32pm**

**> It's over at 5.**

**9:32pm**

**> Super long. Any chance of leaving early?**

**9:33pm**

**> Is the damn building on fire?**

**9:33pm**

**> Not this time**

**> It might be soon tho if i stay this bored**

**9:33pm**

**> Don't you have something to entertain you?**

**9:33pm**

**> Lena told me 2 unpack but its so duuull**

**9:34pm**

**> I told you, I'm fucking working. Go bother Lenalee.**

**9:34pm**

**> But shes doing her lame college shit**

**9:35pm**

**> Too bad. I'm turning my phone off.**

**9:35pm**

**> YUU NO**

**> BBY I NEED U**

Kanda scowled as he dropped his phone into his breast pocket, the device still buzzing with his roommate's frantic text messaging. Apparently, the mutt had _finally_ found a new apartment after their last disaster, and it wasn't a shithole. Kanda wouldn't trust Lavi himself, of course, but if Lenalee approved it probably wasn't a complete hovel.

He walked across the employee parking lot and pulled open the heavy metal door that served as the rear entrance to the Ark, one of the largest bars in the area. He adjusted his vest and smoothed his long hair back before expertly wrapping the tie from his wrist around the dark locks. That being done, he entered the bar area and surveyed it to find that they were already filling up with customers. Their Friday night crowd tended to be busy and usually consisted of students from the university.

Kanda's analyzing gaze landed on the only other bartender that he shared his shift with. The tall, dark-skinned man was drying a crystal rocks glass, but seemed to sense Kanda's presence, looked up, and smiled.

"Kanda, dear!" He greeted. "Hey, I heard you'd moved residences."

Kanda made a sound of annoyance through his teeth and grabbed a rag from beneath the counter. Tyki Mikk, his coworker and... 'dealer,' one could say. "Yeah," he replied offhandedly. "Not that I'd tell you where."

Tyki's lips split into a wider grin that revealed pointed canines, and his gold eyes gleamed. "It's so adorable how you think that'd slow me down."

"Quit being a fucking creep," Kanda said dryly, although there was always that tension he felt when the other vampire spoke so freely. He doubted that Tyki would do any real harm without reason, but Kanda was far from under the impression that he was harmless. The man had a supernatural charm about him and connections that could probably tear Kanda apart. He'd rather not deal with the Noah family at all, but they were running quite the monopoly on human blood, so he had little choice in the matter.

Tyki laughed and began chopping a handful of limes. It was a Friday night, so the bar was still filling with wide-eyed college students ready to blow their paychecks and tuition money on alcohol and greasy food, among other things.

Kanda always found it odd, how many students were part of the Ark's...paricular brand of clientele. He supposed things had changed in recent years. Or maybe they were simply more assimilated into society than he was used to.

Kanda lost himself in his work and the occasional meaningless chatter with the patrons, and before he knew it, the night began to wind to an end. It was only when Tyki tapped him on the shoulder that he looked at the clock and, sure enough, his shift was nearly over.

"Your payment's in the back," Tyki's choice murmured in his ear, setting the hairs on the back of Kanda's neck on end. He nodded in acknowledgement and removed his uniform vest, walking through the doorway behind the bar. He made his way past a man he only knew as Skin, the hulking bar-back who spoke little English as far as he could tell. He found the stainless steel fridge that the bar kept for this specific reason and picked up one of the six-packs that was kept inside. The dark, glass bottles rattled against each other as he lifted the case, and he left through the rear entrance, the same as when he arrived. Loosening his tie, he caught himself breathing in the night air, thick with the smell of alcohol, food, bile, and various other bodily fluids.

"Hey, Kanda!"

The man turned to see Mikk in the doorway. "Let me walk you to your car."

Kanda scowled. "What the fuck do I look like? Some damsel in distress? Leave me alone."

"Aw, come on now," Tyki said with a pout, though the expression didn't match his smug tone. He reached a hand to give Kanda a friendly touch on the shoulder. "Let me be your prince for once."

The other man snarled and shook the hand off, turning to storm toward the far end of the parking lot. He didn't look back, but he sensed the bastard walking right beside him, keeping up as easily as though he were taking a morning stroll.

"Anyway, I just wanted to ask whether you and your roommates have moved in already. Adjusting to your building alright, and all that?"

Kanda didn't answer. He unlocked his car and ducked inside, but a firm hand kept him from closing the door.

"Bring them around sometime, yeah?" Mikk said with a disturbingly serious look, locking their eyes. "I'm sure everyone would love to meet the two mortals who've captured our pet's heart."

"Like hell," Kanda said through his teeth. "Now quit being a pest." With that, he pulled the door away from Tyki's grasp, and the engine roared to life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading this far! Lemme know what you think. Most of the story is planned already, and I have an outline that I'm probably (?) going to follow. Super short Allen appearance this chapter though, so sadness. Probably not much of him next chapter either, but he'll become a main character here before too long. Kanda's bit at the end seemed a bit rushed, too.


	2. Chapter 2

Lenalee had experienced quite a bit during the past year and a half.

It had been that long since she'd met Lavi and Kanda, who turned out to be two of the most important people in her life.

It had also been that long since she'd found out about a world completely separate, yet intricately tied with the one she was familiar with and since that discovery, she'd been attacked by vampires, made deals with witches, run into werewolves, and even more recently, set a necromancer on fire, among other things. She liked to think that she took it all in stride.

And yet, as much as Lenalee had seen as a result of this new, _other_ world, most of her demons came from her own memories.

It was these memories and dark thoughts that trapped her in her own head at night, usually the same scene. They made her toss and turn in her sleep as she opened her mind's door to a room bathed in blood. She opened her mouth, but no sound came out.

_Mom...Dad..._

Lenalee woke with a start. The wet that she felt coating her skin was not blood, but sweat, which began to dry rapidly in the coolness of the unfamiliar room. It took her a moment to orient herself. Of course she didn't recognize the room, because they'd just moved there. She closed her eyes, and breathed just like Komui had taught her. Breathe in for four seconds, hold it for seven, breathe out for eight. _In four, hold seven, out eight._ She repeated it like a mantra until her heart rate slowed. As she breathed, she noticed something...out of place. It took her a moment to place it, but it finally clicked.

She usually woke to the smell of coffee, which Kanda tended to make when he came back from his shift at the bar. He never asked, just made a pot. It was one of those weird things he did that reminded her that he cared. She'd learned long ago that Kanda preferred to speak without words, if one bothered to listen.

Today, though, the deep, rich smell that she'd come to associate with mornings was absent. In its place was the odd smell of something mild and sweet, like burnt sugar. She opened her eyes and tried to decipher where it was coming from, but as she did so the smell was already beginning to fade, like the memory of a dream.

She picked up her phone from its place on the nightstand, and groaned when she saw the time. It was far too early to wake up at all, let alone on a Sunday. No wonder Kanda wasn't back yet.

However early, she knew she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep. Yawning, she slipped out of bed, and prepared herself for the day. She didn't have any classes today, so she dug around in the newly stocked closet to find a pair of gray sweatpants and a black Henley before she left the room.

"Piece of shit."

She paused in surprise at the voice, which was unmistakably Kanda's. She found the older man in the kitchen, messing with the coffeepot and looking more pissy than usual. The machine was on it's side, with the back open so that he could mess with the interior.

It was odd sight, especially considering Kanda hated nearly everything with a circuit. It took Lenalee nearly six months to get him to upgrade his ancient flip phone to something with a touch screen, and he hardly even used it unless it was to contact her or Lavi. Seeing him wrist-deep in the guts of their cheap, thrift store coffeemaker was enough to make her smile. It definitely wasn't a scene she was used to walking into.

"Good morning, Kanda," she greeted, sitting down at the bar counter. "Something wrong with the coffeemaker?"

Kanda, still distracted with the piece of machinery, muttered, "the little bastard's been acting up ever since the move. Probably got damaged along the way— _damn it_ _!"_

He pulled his fingers from the device, which had begun smoking.

Lenalee blinked owlishly. "I know Keurig might be a little modern for you, Kanda, but you seemed to be doing so well before."

"Fuck off with your sass," he said, but there was no real venom to the words. "I don't get what all these extra features are for. Makes it too fragile."

The younger woman chuckled. "Don't worry about it. It's my day off, so I can get a new one today."

"Whatever. I'm making tea. Tastes better, anyway."

He turned to the stove to put the kettle on to boil, and pulled two teabags from the cabinet dedicated to his tea collection, which had apparently been the first thing he'd unpacked. Afterwards, he picked up a newspaper that he'd left on the counter and began skimming the headlines. They sat in companionable silence as the water was being heated, and even when their drinks were done they hardly said a word. Despite this, the atmosphere was relaxing rather than awkward.

The calm was interrupted as Lavi trudged out of his own room, yawning loudly and arranging his black patch over his left eye. His red hair wasn't up in its bandana like usual; instead, it fell into his face in a tangled mess.

"Morning, Lena. Morning, Yuu. Brew anything for me?"

"Just a healthy distaste for your presence," Kanda said in a deadpan voice, taking his eyes from his paper for only a moment. "And don't call me by that name."

"You're so cold, Yuu," Lavi whined, but smiled regardless.

"Good morning, Lavi," Lenalee greeted, though she was a little surprised. "You're up early."

"Eh...?" Lavi frowned and looked down at his watch. "Not that early. It's almost eight."

"What?" She took her phone out of her pocket and checked the time on it again. "That's weird. Mine says five thirty-seven."

"Maybe you changed the time zone by accident?"

"I guess. Still, it's pretty rare to see you out of bed before at least nine on a day off. You know it's Sunday, right?"

" _Ha_ , you're hilarious. I can wake up early sometimes, can't I?"

Kanda sipped at his Earl Gray. "Maybe you can use the extra time to shower. You smell like a petting zoo."

Lavi sniffed himself before grinning mischievously. "I smell like I always do. Maybe...you need a closer sniff?" He suggested, approaching Kanda with his arms spread wide, as though he were going to hug the man.

"You guys..." Lenalee warned. She knew where this was headed.

Kanda took a step back, bristling. "Don't you touch me, dogbreath."

"But Yuu~"

Kanda put the counter between himself and Lavi, but the redhead was relentless in his pursuit. Lenalee, being stuck in the middle, shook her head, even though she wasn't really surprised at the behavior. Lavi was like the gasoline to Kanda's flame, and he knew it. Sure enough, a small, cruel smirk tugged at the corner of Kanda's mouth.

Then, he dumped the remainder of his tea in Lavi's face.

The kitchen went still as the boy sputtered, warm water dripping down his red locks and stunned face.

"It was such a quiet morning, too," Lenalee said forlornly.

Kanda grabbed his paper and tea, face smug as he passed a still speechless Lavi on his way to the hallway. "If this inane game of yours is over, I'm going to bed before the sun comes up."

"That reminds me, I'll pick up some drapes while I'm out," Lenalee assured. Kanda grunted in acknowledgement.

"Is that a 'no' on the hug, then?" Lavi called after him.

The door slammed, and Lavi snickered. He turned back to Lenalee. "He loves me. So whatchu doin' today?"

"Shopping is pretty much all I have planned. There's still some stuff that we have to replace."

"Let me come with~! We can get breakfast on the way."

"I thought you hated my driving? _And_ my car?" Lenalee said with raised eyebrows.

"Well. Yeah, maybe I should drive this time."

"Hell, no. My car, my rules."

"Aww, but  _Lena._ "

The two fell into an easy exchange of banter as they left the apartment and began descending the stairs. In fact, the pair were so focused that they didn't notice the older woman rounding the stairwell landing until Lenalee smacked right into her, sending the poor woman and two paper bags of groceries sprawling to the floor.

"Oh! I'm sorry, miss!" Lenalee exclaimed, kneeling down to rescue one of the discarded shopping bags. Lavi followed suit, chasing an apple that had rolled out of a bag and across the floor.

"See, Lena?" He said with a shake of his head. "Ya can't even walk without getting into an accident."

"Shut up, Lavi. Come help me."

The woman looked dazed and startled from her spot where she'd landed on the floor. She seemed to shake herself out of it when Lavi offered a hand to help her up. Instead of taking the hand, however, she gave a high pitched, nervous laugh.

"Oh, it's alright! I mean, I should be apologizing. I wasn't looking where I was going," she fretted, her long, gangly limbs seeming to tangle in her black dress and purple scarf as she scrambled to her feet by herself. It was a bit like watching a newborn giraffe attempt to walk for the first time.

Lenalee, guilted by the stranger's obvious anxiety at the situation, rose to her feet with the remains of the groceries in hand. "I'm...really sorry. It looks like we ruined your stuff." Sure enough, it looked like several of the apples were bruised, and the carton of eggs had landed on its side, cracking its contents all over anything else in the bag.

The woman waved her hand in a dismissive gesture, still looking sheepish. "Aha, please don't worry about it! It really is my own fault..."

Lavi tilted his head and looked at her strangely. "Isn't it a little...early to be grocery shopping?"

"Lavi!"

"Eh? I mean, I don't mean to be rude. I'm just saying, it's only what, eight?"

"Oh no, it's fine! I just have a little...er...crowds make me uncomfortable, so I prefer to run errands at less busy times. You know?"

Lavi still looked skeptical. "Yeah, of course."

The woman looked looked like she was ready to bolt right then, but something stopped her. "Um. I know it's none of my business, but did you two move into the building recently?"

Lenalee attempted the friendliest smile she could in an attempt to save the situation. "Yeah, Lavi and I moved in with our other roommate. I'm Lenalee Lee."

"It's nice to meet you! I'm Miranda. Er, Miranda Lotto. I live in apartment D."

"That's right across from us!"

"You live in apartment C?" Miranda asked, sounding surprised. "And it's working out all right?"

"So far. We just moved in yesterday."

"Ah! Let me welcome you to the building, then! Now if you'll excuse me, I really do need to be getting home. U-um, please let me know if there's anything I can do for you. Or, you know, you don't have to." And with that, she gave them a small, quick bow of the head and scurried up the stairs.

"That was weird," Lavi commented when they heard the echo of a door closing from above them.

"We should really make up for destroying her groceries," Lenalee said with a frown. Their first official day as residents and they were already mowing down the neighbors.

* * *

By the time the pair returned from their trip, it was getting dark, but they were nevertheless in high spirits. Lenalee and Lavi usually went overboard when shopping together, and this case had been no different. Lenalee called Kanda once they'd hung their new gray blackout curtains over the living room window, and he emerged with his silky black hair out of its ponytail and a look of mild annoyance on his face.

"Check it out, Yuu!" Lavi cheered, holding up a tall, dark bottle. "We found some wine on sale at that store down the street. We have wine glasses that we never use, so we were like, 'why not?' What d'ya say, Yuu?"

"You're not even supposed to drink, mutt. Come to think of it, Lee, aren't you underage?"

Lavi waved a hand dismissively. "Eh, I'll be careful. Besides, we never get to do anything fancy like this!"

"I invited our neighbor, Miranda, over, but she kinda shut the door in my face," Lenalee said with a wince. "Guess we'll have to find some other way to pay her back."

Kanda made a face. "I don't even want to know. And I want no part of your mundane rituals."

"Oh, shut up and drink with us, Kanda!" Lenalee laughed. "It's red wine, so you'll fit right in."

Lavi had already retrieved one of the bottles of blood from the fridge and was filling a wine glass with the thick liquid. He filled the other two with the red wine as Lenalee dragged an unenthusiastic Kanda to the kitchen's bar.

"Let's drink to a successful first day in the apartment!" Lenalee toasted with a giggle, and clinked her glass with Lavi's. After rolling his eyes, Kanda reluctantly followed suit.

Lavi, true to his word, stopped after one glass, and Lenalee fell asleep after two. The redhead joked about her being a lightweight, but it was said with a fond smile. He met the eyes of the black-haired man across from him, who had become even more quiet and contemplative as he fiddled with the stem of his empty glass. He'd gone ahead and finished off the bottle of blood. It wasn't like he needed to share, after all.

"I'll take her to bed," Lavi offered, already standing and stretching. "You a'ight here?"

Kanda nodded with a grunt and bid them good night, gathering up the dirtied dishes. He watched as the redhead picked up their roommate with a gentleness that he didn't usually possess, and the two disappeared down the hallway, leaving him alone in the silence of the kitchen.

* * *

There it was again. That dream.

_Komui called her name, voice thick with grief. The Lee siblings shared their father's eyes. While Lenalee's were bright and shimmering, like gemstones, Komui's reminded her of soft, calming lavender fields. Even with the grisly scene around them, their own personal cataclysm, his eyes remained warm and gentle. She used to ask Komui about them when she was little._

_Brother, why doesn't anybody else have eyes like ours? Why am I so weird?_

_He would laugh and tell her that she was beautiful just the way she was. That she would always be beautiful, she just had to wipe the blood off of her face._

_Their parents lay around them, blood coating every surface of the room and soaking into the parched carpet. It even smeared the skin of her hands and face, as well as her clothes. They'd been gone. Komui had taken her out to a movie, some stupid animated feature that her little six-year-old self just_ had _to see. Mom and Dad had been suffering, and she'd been gone._

_Her brother's arms embraced her as he hid her face in his shoulder, even though he was shaking, too. He smelled like ground coffee and engine oil._

_On the edge of her consciousness, she heard the delicate sound of a piano melody drift through her mindscape, slow and lulling. She felt confusion throughout her muddled mind. She'd never heard such a melody before. The warmth of the embrace slowly bled away, however, and left her cold to the bone. She inhaled sharply at the sensation and smelled burnt sugar, tasted blood._

Lenalee blinked open startled eyes as she felt a chilly breath caress her face, and at first could see nothing in the total darkness of her room. However, once her eyes adjusted, she saw wide, silver eyes blinking back at her. The eyes appeared to belong to a young man, whose skin was almost pale enough to glow, whose silver-white hair fell into his face as he gazed down at her and almost covered the delicate red marking that marred his...flesh? No...was she still dreaming? She opened her mouth, but no sound emerged.

Then the man spoke, and it was in a young, musical voice that echoed in the small space between them and managed to somehow sound curious and sad at the same time. His tone sounded as though he were talking to himself, as though he didn't expect an answer.

"I'm sorry. That must be quite the nightmare."

Lenalee somehow found her voice, and without thought, she screamed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posting this at 1:18am, 'cause I might not have the nerve to do it when I'm lucid, haha. By the way, this is hopefully the last title change. So. Yeah, sorry 'bout that, but I'm pretty happy with this one.
> 
> ANYWAYS, lots of thanks to all who read, commented, and left kudos! I appreciate all of you. This chapter skipped around quite a bit more than the last, so lemme know what you thought about it! Too rushed? Boring? Don't be shy, I don't bite.
> 
> I think that's all I got, so see you next time, and I hope you have an amazing rest of your day!


	3. Chapter 3

The figure's eyes widened with confusion and shock as he backed away from her toward the wall. From a longer distance, Lenalee could see that despite the silvery white hair, the man's face was youthful. The long, intricate red marking looked to be a scar that was torn down the left side of his face. What was probably the most startling about his appearance, however, was the fact that the young man was almost completely transparent.

It was then that Kanda threw open the door to her room, wielding a newly sharpened antique katana.

"Kanda!" She shouted in surprise. "Wait!"

The eyes of the figure standing over her bed snapped to the pissed-off vampire in the doorway, and back to Lenalee, his mouth slightly agape. Kanda didn't speak, simply stepped toward the young man and simultaneously sliced at the air with practiced grace. However, instead of cutting into flesh, the sword glided through without pause and the figure's form distorted as though made of smoke. Kanda blinked in mild alarm as his sword narrowly missed contact with the drywall.

"The fuck?" He wondered aloud. He was met with stunned silence.

"Where did he go?" Lenalee asked, frantically searching the room with her eyes.

"Hell if I know," her roommate replied. After a short pause, he shot her a look. "Shit, Lee, the place you two would choose to rent would _have_ to be haunted."

" _What-_ "

"Lenalee!" Lavi called as he rushed into the room, red hair down and wild, and eyepatch thrown on haphazardly. The green eye that remained uncovered was wide and unfocused. "The fuck is going on? I heard screaming."

"There was...a ghost? In my room. Was that my imagination?"

Kanda shook his head, eyes still scanning the room, sword poised at the ready.

Lavi blinked a few times, and Lenalee could almost see him mentally gathering the pieces of his waking consciousness. "There was...huh?"

Instead of answering him, Lenalee turned to Kanda with a glare. "Why did you chase him away?"

"Excuse me?" The young man deadpanned, returning the glare with one of his own.

"I could've handled that!"

"You were _one_ octave away from screaming like Lavi."

"Hey!" The redhead cried indignantly.

"Guys," Lenalee groaned before pinching the bridge of her nose. "Can you guys just...give me a second?"

Her roommates looked at each other before filing out of her room, leaving her alone. She put her head in her hands.

"What is my life?" She muttered to herself before throwing back the covers and swinging her legs over the side of the bed. She didn't trust the automatic time on her phone, especially after yesterday, so she searched their time zone to find that she still had three hours before her first class.

After giving the room a suspicious once over for any eyes, she quickly got dressed and opened the door. As she padded down the hallway, she could hear Lavi and Kanda's voices get louder and clearer from the living room.

"Ghosts?" Lavi's voice was thick with disbelief. "They exist?" He was standing with his hands on his hips in front of the older man, who was nursing a cup of coffee at the end of the sofa, looking mildly irritated. His water stone was still laid out on the coffee table, so it looked like he'd been in the middle of sharpening his sword when he'd heard her shout.

"Well, duh," was the dark-haired man's answer. Lenalee crossed the room to the kitchen, where her purple mug was waiting for her, the words ' _World's Greatest Sister_ ' beaming at her proudly as steam swirled from the top. She took a sip, and as always, the ratio of milk and sugar was perfect. Damn bartender.

"How come I've never seen one before?" Lavi was saying. "Actually, if they're just showing up in people's bedrooms, how come they're not common knowledge?"

"First of all, you probably have and just not known it. I haven't seen many, but that's because spirits usually don't have the power to manifest themselves into a solid form, even to those like us. Humans can't see them; their spirits are too far from the border between life and death."

"But I could see him, and I'm human," Lenalee pointed out, joining them in the living room.

"There're some exceptions. Mediums, young children, and the dying, for instance. There's others, but those are usually the case."

"So Lenalee's, like, a medium?" Lavi asked, expression full of concern.

"Most likely."

"I don't like this." The younger man's eyes were flicking around the room. "I really don't like this."

"Calm down, moron. Can you sense anything in the apartment right now?"

Lavi paused, then shook his head. "No."

"Then we're fine. What we saw was probably just the recording of a strong memory. If its frequency is too low for your senses, then it's effectively gone, for now. Even if it were an actual spirit, it takes a lot of energy for them to gain any sentience, so we probably won't see it again."

" _What?_ We're _not_ fine!" Lavi cried, voice rising a level.

Kanda waved him off. "Trust me. As long as you don't poke around the spirit world, it won't poke back. Usually."

 " _Usual-_ "

"Don't you have work today?" The older man interrupted, cobalt eyes hard. "You gonna to go in looking like you crawled out of a hole in the earth? Not that you usually look any better."

Lavi didn't look satisfied, but it was clear that Kanda was done discussing it. "Yeah. Not for a few hours, though, so I'm gonna go take a shower."

"Are you gonna be okay getting there?" Lenalee asked.

"Yeah, I can hoof it. You leaving already?"

"Yeah, I think I'm gonna head out early today. Maybe get some coffee."

"You're drinking coffee right now," the redhead pointed out.

"I think im going to need more coffee."

He laughed, the mood already lightening a bit. "Alright, then. Have fun in class, Lenalady! And if you happened to bring a Pumpkin Spice Latté by the circulation desk later, I wouldn't turn it away!"

* * *

Lenalee's day went by even slower than usual. Despite four shots of espresso swimming through her veins, her feet dragged across campus as she transferred classes and her head nodded during her lectures. The only thing keeping her awake was the memory of terrified silver eyes vanishing out of existence right in front of her.

Kanda said that it was probably a residual memory, but something about that didn't feel right. She could've sworn she'd seen intelligence in those eyes. He'd recognized her as a person, and shown real fear when attacked. Not to mention what he'd said when she woke up. What was it?

_I'm sorry. That must be quite the nightmare._

She even had difficulty paying attention to one of her favorite professors, who lectured about logarithms. Instead, she found herself curious about ghosts in general. Before she knew it, she was scrolling through a huge list of search results on her phone.

**_Are Ghosts Real? Here's the Science Behind the Legend._ **

**_Proof of the Afterlife: What Really Happens When We Die?_ **

**_H_ o _w_  t _o Communicate With Spirits: 10 Steps (With Pictures)._**

"Texting your boyfriend?" A childish, feminine voice purred from beside her. Lenalee didn't even jump at the sudden intrusion like she might have in the past, simply closed her browser, sighed, and turned to the tiny girl on her right.

"I told you, I don't have a boyfriend."

"Really? You and Lavi aren't a thing yet? Or your other roommate? I forget his name."

Lenalee made a face at the thought. "Ugh, gross. Road, don't put that image in my head. Lavi and Kanda are like brothers to me." She couldn't even say that they were any less weird than her actual brother.

The girl grinned, bright white teeth gripping the stick of the purple lollipop that she was sucking on. "You're so dull, Lenalee. But so fun to play with. Speaking of, you guys find a place to live after what happened?"

"Yeah, Lavi found us a nice place pretty close by. You know Hallow Street?"

"Huh?" The other girl tilted her head in thought. "The name sounds kinda familiar. I think some of my cousins run a shop close by."

"Of course they do," Lenalee chuckled with a shake of her head. From what she gathered, Road had a huge family that didn't really steer their members into a particular profession like other wealthy families tended to do. Instead, Road was constantly mentioning cousins or uncles that were involved in a diverse range of businesses or government positions.

It was all pretty hard to keep track of, so Lenalee usually didn't bother, but she decided to humor her anyway. "Is this shop a place I've heard of?"

Road hummed and drew the lollipop out of her mouth with an audible _pop_. "Eh, probably not. It's a pretty niche market."

 _That was weirdly evasive_ , Lenalee thought as she scribbled down a few stray notes from the board up front. Sometimes she thought she was used to the girl's quirks, and then she did something else that caught her way off guard.

To be honest, she wasn't quite sure when and how she and Road had become something close to friends. It just sort of happened. And people didn't just _befriend_ Road. The girl had an arrogant air about her that came from her presumably wealthy upbringing, and that along with her childish tendencies kept most people at a distance. Of course, Lenalee had dealt with stranger things by now than Road Kamelot, so the two somehow got along.

Road interrupted her thoughts again with a poke to the shoulder. "Hey, since you so _obviously_ need to get a life, why don't you let me take you out to one of the parties down on Greek Row tonight?"

"Because, I told you I don't _do_ big parties. Besides, my life isn't boring just 'cause I don't get drunk with a bunch of frat boys."

"So you've got something better to do?" The other girl said with an eyebrow raised in disbelief.

 _Go home to my haunted apartment and see if I can contact this weird, scarred guy that showed up at my bedside at five o'clock in the morning, possibly using some candles and incense. There might even be chanting._  "I have to study for midterms."

Road groaned and hit her head against the flimsy table in front of her, making Lenalee snort. Road insisted that she was nineteen years old, but she looked to be about fourteen, and acted even younger. Lenalee still hadn't ruled out that she was some kind of child prodigy who was admitted into college early and got a kick out of lying about her age. The dark-skinned girl sent her a glare. "Girl, you need some _serious_ help. I'm so disappointed in you."

"Thanks, but you don't have to worry about me," Lenalee told her with a trace of sarcasm.

"Uh huh. By the way, Professor Nyne's been staring at you for about thirty seconds."

Lenalee's head snapped back to the front, and sure enough the older woman had paused her lecture to glare at them. Several students were also turned to give them curious looks. Lenalee's face grew rapidly hot, and Road giggled, unfazed by the attention.

* * *

While Lavi wasn't actually a student at Black Order University, his shift at the school's library ended just before Lenalee's last class did, so when she came out of the lecture hall he was already waiting there with his signature grin.

They took Lenalee's car home, and when they opened the front door Lavi nearly skipped through the doorway.

"Hey, Lenalady, want something for dinner? I'm making."

"Uh, _yeah,_ " she replied, as though he didn't need to ask. "Silly question." Lavi wasn't often in the mood to cook, which was a shame, because he was so impossibly _good_ at it. It was actually pretty sad that Kanda didn't eat, because maybe then the two would actually get along. Maybe.

"Kanda, we're home!" She called before tossing her bag on the floor and collapsing onto the sofa with a blissful moan. She decided to look over some of her English notes while she waited. That was always a subject she had trouble with.

After several minutes of reviewing sentence structure and listening to the sounds of rattling dishes and the telltale sizzling of frying vegetables coming from the kitchen, Lenalee looked up to see a yawning Kanda pad out of the hallway into the living room. He was wearing his white dress shirt and black vest, looping his tie with careful precision and presumably getting ready to leave for the night.

"Good evening, sleepy head," she chuckled, waving her pen at him. "You're up early. When does your shift start tonight?"

Her roommate gave her a dark look, before picking up some of the miscellaneous papers strewn over the coffee table. "Seven."

"Ouch." She winced sympathetically. "Are you gonna be able to make it that early?"

"It's just a couple of hours before sunset, so no direct light if I'm careful. I'll be fine." His expression morphed to one of confusion as his search through the mess of papers proved fruitless and he moved to the bar counter.

"Yuu~" A singsong voice entered the room. Lavi entered, a steaming plate of chicken stir fry in each hand. He passed one to Lenalee, and she thanked him with a bright smile.

Kanda's teeth could almost be heard grinding from inside his mouth. "Call me that again and I'll bite you."

The redhead ignored his acidic tone. "Want anything to drink before ya leave? I'd ask if you wanted some stir fry with us, but, well."

 "No."

"Not even any tea?"

Instead of answering, the black-haired man gave up on his search and made a sound of frustration. "Hey, Mongrel, where the fuck did you put my keys?"

Lavi paused, expression suddenly serious. "Dude, even _I_ know not to touch your keys. You must've put 'em somewhere."

Kanda turned his accusing gaze toward Lenalee, who threw her hands up in a universal  _don't look at me_  gesture.

"I always put them in the same spot and there's no way in hell I'm walking to work at this time of day."

 "Hey, it's okay we'll find 'em," Lenalee assured, putting her plate down and standing to help look for the wayward keys. "Hey, I forgot to ask. Have you seen any sign of that ghost from this morning while we were gone?"

Kanda huffed and shook his head. "And like I said, we probably won't. Ghosts are rare, even for those like us who can see them."

 "Uh huh."

"Not that I care, but you're not thinking of trying to get ahold of it, are you?"

"No way!" The dark-haired girl answered quickly.

Kanda sighed. "Don't mess with the other side like that. Once you open yourself up to that shit, there's no telling what you'll let in without meaning to."

"Yeah, I get it-ah! Found them!" She called triumphantly, holding the keys up by the ring. She tossed them toward her long-haired roommate, who caught them effortlessly. They jingled cheerfully with the movement. "They were over here, beside the couch."

"How the hell did they get there?" Kanda wondered aloud, sending a glare toward Lavi, who shrugged with his mouth full. "Whatever. I don't care. Anyway, remember what I said, Lee. I mean it. Behave."

The young woman smiled guilessly. "Oh, absolutely."

As soon as the door shut, Lenalee turned to her other roommate with a conspiratory look. "Okay, Lavi, we have to see if we can contact that ghost."

"What?" Her roommate paused in his chewing. "Didn't Yuu _just_ say not to? Like, he was literally just here?"

"Come on! I want to talk to him! And since when do you listen to Kanda?"

"I mean, I've never dealt with an actual ghost before, and Yuu's got that whole immortal wisdom about him, ya know?"

The dark-haired girl looked at him with an evaluating gaze. "Lavi, are you...afraid of ghosts?"

"What? Of course not!"

"You are!"

"I'm just _saying_. Even if there's some dead dude sticking around here after he's bit it, shouldn't we, like, call an exorcist or something? Not  _hold a séance._ "

"Come on, you didn't see him, Lavi! He looked scared. I was thinking maybe we could help him, you know. Cross over or something. That's what ghosts usually want, right?"

"Help?" Lavi repeated incredulously. "Lenalee. You remember last year, you saw a homeless guy that you crossed the street to give money to?" At his roommate's frustrated groan, he continued. "Yeah. What was he, a ghoul? Or what about that stray kitten you brought home a few months ago?  _Freaking chimera, Lenalee_. I didn't even know they lived this far east, but apparently they do. You know how I know that?"

"How was I supposed to be able to tell?"

"It had horns, for one! Fucking _horns_!"

"I thought it was just a little deformed!"

"Come on! Even you have to admit it, you can't exactly be called the best judge of character when it comes to these things."

"I met you and Kanda, didn't I?"

Lavi paused and stared at her for a long moment. "I don't see how that does anything but prove my point."

Lenalee's jaw clenched. "Fine, I'll do it alone."

"You--what?"

"If I can't get your help, I'll do it myself."

Lavi emerald eye hardened, and the two locked eyes in a contest of wills. Finally, the redhead let out a long, weary sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. "You're so stubborn. And you're gonna be the absolute death of me."

She grinned. "Love you, Lavi."

"You'd better. What do you want me to do?"

"I figure we could just start off with asking him to talk to us," she explained, sitting on the floor in the middle of the living room. Lavi followed suit, and the two sat across from each other with their legs crossed, lotus-style.

"Okay, so the guide said we should be really quiet and polite."

"Of _course_ you've been doing your research," Lavi muttered.

She ignored him. "Hello?" She began, addressing the otherwise empty room. "I'd like to talk to the person that I met in my room this morning."

Silence.

"Can you hear me? Is there anything you can do to let us know you're here?"

After another beat of silence, Lavi spoke up. "Uh, Lenalee, I still don't feel so great about this. Are you _really_ sure you wanna be messing with this kinda thing? Maybe the from this morning really was just some one time thing. Or a crazy dream."

"You heard Kanda. He saw it too, right before he nearly put a hole in my wall."

"It's hardly _my_ fault the bloke's psychotic," a young British voice said in a miffed tone, sounding like it was coming from over Lavi's shoulder.

The young man yelped at the sudden voice and scrambled across the floor, away from its apparent source. As he did so, the air seemed to shimmer, and the figure from before slowly materialized into existence. He jumped at Lavi's outburst, looking almost as surprised as the redhead himself.

"What the _fuck_?" Lavi cried.

"Ah, I-I'm sorry!" the boy said, hands up in a pacifying gesture. The alarm on his face slowly gave way to intrigue, however, and he seemed to inspect their faces closely, as though he'd never seen anything like them before.

"Um." Lenalee wasn't sure how to proceed, leaning back as the boy got especially close. She noticed that he was wearing an outfit not unlike Kanda's bartending uniform, with a white dress shirt and black vest. Instead of a tie, however, the boy had a blood-red ribbon tied around his collar. "Is...is something wrong?"

"I'm not sure," he murmured. "Can you two...really see me?"

"Yes?"

The boy sat back for a moment, before his face split into a wide grin. With it, he looked less threatening than earlier, even with the angry red scar marring his face. In fact, he looked to be even younger than she'd originally thought. Possibly younger than her. She and Lavi jumped as the boy suddenly began to laugh.

"Are you okay?" Lenalee asked tentatively. This was a very different personality from the melancholy youth that she'd encountered briefly that morning.

The ghost's laughter died down a bit, but the grin didn't disappear from his face. "I'm sorry. You have to understand that this isn't normal for me. I've been trying to get into contact with people for years _,_ but _nobody's_ ever seen me!" He laughed. "I don't understand why you two are so different. And that other person from earlier. The violent one, with the girly hair."

Lavi, who had been mostly silent and pensive up to that point, choked. "Holy shit Lena, did you hear what he said about Yuu?"

Indeed, Lenalee was fighting a smile. "His name was Kanda. He said normal humans can't see spirits, so that's probably why you haven't been able to contact anyone."

The boy furrowed his brows. "Sorry? I don't follow."

"Well, uh. Like Lavi here is a werewolf, for example. And Kanda's a vampire. You guys are, like, on the same frequency, or something."

His smile was gone now, and his eyes flicked back and forth between the two of them with a new intensity. "Werewolves? Vampires? Aren't those myths?"

"If you're a ghost, is it really so hard to believe that other things like that exist?"

"I suppose not," Allen said with a thoughtful look.

Lenalee carded her fingers through her hair, letting out a breath. "Okay. Before we go any further, do you mind if I ask what your name is?"

"It's Allen."

"Just Allen?"

The boy nodded. "Yes. I don't know my last name."

At this, Lenalee's brow furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean, I don't have any memories of anything before...all of this. Including my surname," he explained, voice soft. "All I know is that my first name is Allen, and I was eighteen when I died sometime in 2009."

The pair was silent for a moment, and Lenalee considered the boy's words. Eight years, without being able to communicate with the living world. "That sounds...really lonely."

Allen looked a bit awkward, as though the sudden concern was making him uncomfortable. "It's...not as bad as it sounds. I don't know if you can tell, but I don't have the best control over my form. Sometimes I just kind of flicker out of conciousness and wake up somewhere else. Sometimes it's only for a few seconds, other times days. It's what I assume sleep would be like, so it's not like I've spent all eight years wandering the place."

Lavi spoke up. "You can't leave?" He asked, lacking his previous hostility. He made a vague gesture with his hands. "Y'know. Go into the light?"

"You mean like, pass on? I don't know. I haven't actually been able to leave this apartment since...whatever it was that happened. Like, I can't even get past the threshold. Believe me, if it were possible for me to leave, I wouldn't be hanging around here."

That's right, he wouldn't even remember how he died. He wouldn't remember any family or friends that he had, or where he went to school. Lenalee couldn't imagine how scary and lonely it would be.

After a momentary pause, Lavi spoke up again. "Okay, then, I think if you're gonna be sticking around, we need to establish some ground rules."

Lenalee looked at her friend in surprise before cracking a smile. It was nice to see him making an effort to make peace with the ghost after his initial apprehension.

Allen nodded. "I can follow rules."

"Kay. We're calling them...the Allen Commandments. One: announce yourself when you're around. No floating around invisibly, if you can even do that. What about you, Lenalee? Any suggestions?"

"Ask for permission before coming into bedrooms?"

"There you go. Three: under  _no_  circumstances, do you hurt and/or kill anyone in the apartment."

Allen rolled his eyes. "I can't even move dust on purpose. I hardly think I could harm you even if I wanted to. Besides, most of those 'rules' seem like common courtesy."

"Hey, better safe than sorry," Lavi said with a shrug.

"So you can't affect the material world?" Lenalee asked curiously.

At this, Allen became sheepish again. "Well, I can move _some_ things. When it's least convenient. I have very little control over it. If I tried to open a jar, for example, it might not move at all or it could shatter. Sometimes, things happen without me wanting them to. Oh, electronics don't seem to like me much, either," he added.

"What do you mean by that?"

"They tend to malfuction when I'm around. The newer they are, the more often they tend to do so."

Something about what he said struck her as familiar. "My phone! The time kept messing up!"

"And the coffemaker," Lavi added, realization dawning on his face. "Dude, I thought Yuu was gonna flip his shit at that thing."

"Yeah, I can't control that very well either. Although, I have to admit that it was quite entertaining to see the bloke try and fix it."

When Kanda trudged back through the door shortly after the clock struck four in the morning, three pairs of eyes blinked up at him from the living room floor, and he stared back. Nobody spoke for a long moment. Finally, Lenalee gave a nervous laugh.

"Hey, Kanda. Don't be mad."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy crap, this chapter is kinda long compared to the others. Not to mention, there's a lot of info in it, too. So. Much. Dialogue. It seems a bit dense in comparison to the last two chapters, so apologies of that feels a bit...out of place?
> 
> By the way, your guys' kudos and comments give me life, I swear. Every single one brings a smile to my face and gives me inspiration to write. Like, seriously, I'm so glad people are enjoying this fic and giving me feedback, so don't underestimate your input. So with that, I hope you guys have an awesome rest of your day (or night), and until next time!


	4. Chapter 4

_Ivory keys were scratched and worn from years of use, but they nevertheless felt like velvet as calloused fingers caressed them, played away at them. Played away, and the music was soft and warm and quiet, the only sound in the empty room, until. Until a crash at the door--_

And Lenalee jolted awake with a sharp intake of breath, searching the room frantically. Her eyes found nothing out of the ordinary, and she was alone in her room. She was sprawled out over her bed on her stomach, laptop in front of her. The screen had gone dark, so she must have drifted off for at least five minutes.

She swiped her finger over the trackpad to wake the screen, and found that it couldn't have been long, as it was still early evening. In addition to the clock, an Innocence Today article glared back at her. It was a page of cold, unfeeling statistics, with hardly a name in sight.

"Hey, Lenalee." She looked over her shoulder as a soft, accented voice filtered through the door. "Mind if I come in? I would knock, but."

"Yeah, come on in, Allen," she answered, and the young man's white head poked through the solid door, before the rest of his body followed.

"Hey, you're keeping your form pretty well," Lenalee observed.

Allen smiled, looking the slightest bit proud. "Much to Kanda's despair. I don't lose it anymore when he throws things at me. I just survived a copy of _Kafka's Complete Works,_ I'll have you know."

Lenalee groaned, head dropping to the bed. "You two are still at each other's throats? It's been almost a week." She paused, lifting her head again. "Actually, nevermind. I'm not that surprised."

"Hey, he is quite the prick. I can't fathom how two people like you and Lavi got involved with him."

"He's actually pretty sweet once you get to know him."

"If you say so," he replied with a roll of his eyes. "Anyway, Lavi wanted me to tell you he's making food," the boy told her, peeking at her laptop screen. "What are you doing?"

Lenalee moved over so that he could see. "Looking at local news stories dating back eight years," she answered with a frustrated sigh. "Not that there's any actual _stories_ , just a lot of numbers. Are you sure you have the name and date right?"

Allen frowned. "I don't know why I would know a name that isn't mine, but the first thing I remember is waking up in this room, with nobody living here. The display board at the bank across the street read December 19th, 2009."

"December 19th..." Lenalee murmured, typing the date into the search bar. Once she pressed Enter, however, the screen blinked to a nearly blank white screen, the words  _no internet connection_ taking up the page. She turned to Allen beside her with an unimpressed expression. He smiled sheepishly and shrugged.

"Looks like you should get your modem checked out."

"Smartass," she said. "Oh, well. It's not like I'd find anything new. For all we know, you could've died days or months earlier. That date could be totally useless."

"You're oddly pessimistic today," Allen observed. After a moment, he offered her a smile, and his gloved hand hovered over her shoulder. "You really shouldn't spend so much time on this. You look exhausted enough already."

She rubbed at her eyes, still a bit drowsy. "I'm sorry. It's not the research. I've been..." she paused. "Er. Nevermind."

"What is it?" Allen asked. "Come on, don't be embarrassed. Who am I going to tell?"

She smiled and shook her head. "I've just been having some trouble sleeping, is all."

"More nightmares?"

"I guess. But not like the ones I usually get. Not as bad."

"Would it help if you described it?"

"I don't know. They don't really make a lot of sense. It's probably just stress. I'll be fine."

Allen didn't look convinced. "Are you sure? I know I'm not exactly the best person to talk to about it, since I don't sleep, but maybe it would help if you talked to Lavi or Kanda about it? Er, maybe not Kanda, but you know what I mean."

She shook her head, giving him her most reassuring smile. "No, it's nothing that they need to worry about. It's no big deal."

Allen had a concerned look on his face that told her that he still wasn't satisfied with that answer, but wouldn't push the matter. "Alright. You'll tell me if they keep bothering you, though, won't you?"

"Sure," she told him, even though she knew she wouldn't. It would do nobody any good. "Thanks, Allen."

They sat like that a moment longer, neither wanting to acknowledge the rising awkwardness that inevitably came with leaving so much unsaid. Finally, Allen broke the silence with a cough, despite the fact that he didn't breathe.

"You know, Lavi's been working on that meal for hours. He'd be heartbroken if you weren't there to eat it with him."

She chuckled softly. "You're right. He's so sensitive."

She followed Allen out of the room. They passed Kanda in the living room, who appeared to have retrieved his book and was sitting on the end of the couch with one of his legs curled underneath him. He glanced up as they crossed the room toward the kitchen, face twisting into a scowl as he spotted Allen. The ghost smiled sweetly.

"Hey, Lavi," Lenalee greeted as the pair entered the kitchen. The redhead was at the stove, attending to a pot of pastel-yellow sauce and humming to a tune that only he could hear. He stopped as they entered, throwing an easygoing grin over his shoulder.

"Hey, how's my fave human? We missed you while you were hidden away; I had to be entertained by Yuu and Allen bonding in the living room over there."

Lenalee laughed. "Well, at least nothing's broken this time. We're almost out of lightbulbs."

"Oh, that's right!" Allen exclaimed, nearly bouncing on his feet like a child. "I haven't broken or thrown anything for almost two days. I still can't move things when I want to, unfortunately."

"You'll get there," Lenalee assured. "I think--"

A high-pitched screech interrupted their conversation and blared loudly, causing Lenalee and Lavi to clap their hands over their ears. Allen looked vaguely surprised, but otherwise unworried.

"What did you _do_?" The young woman demanded with an accusing look at her roommate.

"Why is everybody always asking me that?!" Lavi shouted, loud enough to be heard over the noise.

"I'm pretty sure it's coming from the smoke alarm across the hall," Allen offered, the calmest in the room. "It happens, sometimes."

"You mean Miranda's place?"

"I don't know. Is she the small, skittish one with the thick eyeliner?"

"I think we should go check on her," Lenalee said. Lavi nodded, already heading for the front door.

Kanda was already in the hall and pounding on Miranda's front door when she and Lavi got there. Allen followed as far as he could, but stopped when he reached the threshold, standing on his toes in an attempt to see past them. The alarm had gone quiet by that point, but that did little to alleviate Lenalee's concern for their new neighbor.

"Miss Lotto?" She called, while Kanda continued to beat on the door. "Is everything okay in there?"

In response, the door to Apartment D burst open, a cloud of dark smoke streaming through the top of the doorway. Its inhabitant stumbled at the threshold, coughing, and Lenalee dropped to kneel at her side.

"Miranda!" She said worriedly, looking the woman over for any injury. "Are you okay?"

The woman squeaked in surprise, looking up with fearful, watery eyes. "Ah! Oh, Miss Lenalee. I didn't see you there. S-sorry for the noise. It was the fire alarm again. I was just making-ah, dinner. I was making dinner. That's what I was doing."

"What the hell are you cooking in there?" Lavi coughed, waving the smoke away from his face. "Meth? Jesus." Lenalee sympathized with him; if the smoke smelled this bad to her, it must've been wreaking havoc on his delicate nose.

"Should we call the fire department?" She asked.

"Yes," Kanda said, clearly disapproving of the situation.

"No!" Miranda nearly shouted. Kanda narrowed his dark eyes, and the woman seemed to mentally backtrack. "I mean, that's not necessary at all. It--it's really not as bad as it looks." She coughed again. "Or smells. Honestly, the smoke should clear out before too long."

"Alright, alright, nobody's calling anybody," Lenalee soothed. Both Kanda and Lavi sent her incredulous looks, and she shrugged helplessly.

"Oh, thank you," Miranda sighed with relief. There was a brief period of silence as she caught her breath again.

Lenalee fidgeted uneasily. They hadn't really gotten off to a great start with their neighbor, and she felt a kind of responsibility. Especially with the poor woman gasping on the floor like a fish on land.

"Hey, you know, Miranda..." Lenalee could already tell that she was going to catch hell for this. "Why don't you come over to our place while yours is airing out? We were just about to sit down to dinner. You know, since yours was kinda ruined?"

Miranda's head snapped up, and sure enough her roommates both went from incredulous to completely baffled. The brunette gaped for a moment, looking like her brain had short-circuited and needed a moment to reboot. "I-I don't think that's such a good idea. I mean, I don't mean offense, it's just, I would be imposing!"

"Uh, Lena, I know you want to get along with the neighbors, but I'm kinda with Miranda on this one," Lavi said, peeking behind them at Allen. "We're not exactly...equipped to host guests right now."

"Oh, don't worry about me!" Allen called from the doorway. "I promise I'll behave myself. Besides, it's not like I can talk to her anyway."

Lenalee did her best not to turn or acknowledge his presence, but she could easily picture the grin that was probably splitting his face at the thought of being around another person, even if he couldn't interact with them. Instead, she addressed Lavi. "I'm sure she doesn't mind. Besides, we still owe her for ruining her groceries the other day. What do you say, Miranda?"

The taller woman looked almost afraid to disagree. "Um. I suppose?"

Lenalee smiled and grabbed her by the arm "Great! Come on over," she said, leading the whimpering Miranda back across the hall toward their own apartment.

* * *

 

It was beyond awkward. When Lavi had said that they weren't prepared for guests, that hadn't been just an excuse. They didn't have a dining table, so the four of them were seated around the bar with steaming plates set in front of them.

Lenalee had even asked Kanda to be there, though he didn't have a plate. Instead, she'd suggested some of the wine that was left over from the week before. Which may have, in hindsight, been a poor idea, as now he had a potential weapon to use against Lavi who, in defense against the awkwardness, was attempting to feed him a piece of Cavatelli.

The part that was probably the most discomforting, however, was having to watch Allen circle around an oblivious Miranda, seemingly fascinated and emboldened by the fact that he was invisible to people.

"I've never met any of the neighbors before," he commented quietly to himself. "Her hair looks so soft. I wish I could touch it."

" _Anyway_ , Miranda, how long have you lived here?" Lenalee asked with a smile.

"In the building? Um. I just moved in about three y-years ago," she answered, twirling a strand of her hair self-consciously. "But I've lived in Innocence nearly all my life."

"Oh, wow. So you must know the city pretty well."

"Not exactly. I don't leave home often."

"It's okay, neither do I," Allen sighed. "Or Kanda, for that matter. But I think that's just because he induces chaos and crying children wherever he goes."

Kanda coughed into his wine.

"A-are you alright, Kanda?" Miranda asked.

"Yes. I just drank a little too fast."

Lavi snickered. "Slow down, Yuu. You're such a lush."

"Maybe if you eat something, it will help?" Miranda offered. "You haven't even a plate in front of you."

"Already ate."

"Oh. O-okay. Sorry."

Allen gave him a reprimanding look. "So you're an arse to everyone, not just me. That's nice to know."

There was another period of painful silence after that, though shorter than the last. Surprisingly enough, it was Miranda herself who broke it.

"I'm sorry," she whimpered, eyes locked onto the countertop as they welled with fresh tears. "It's because of my clumsiness that you--that you three need to deal with me, and I know that I'm not very pleasant to have around and I--"

"Woah, woah," Lavi said quickly, hands up in a placating gesture. "Come on, there's no need for that!"

"Yeah, we just don't have guests over very often," Lenalee agreed hurriedly. "Or like, ever. Please don't cry, you shouldn't be so hard on yourself."

Miranda sniffled. "I don't deserve your kindness."

"Oh, you don't mean that," Lenalee said, placing a tentative hand on her shoulder.

After gaping for a moment, seemingly unable to find a way to respond, the brunette finally cracked a small smile.

* * *

The rest of dinner went by, relatively uneventful. They made small-talk about safe topics. At some point, they'd wrestled the wine from Kanda and poured glasses for each of them. Not a bad idea, Lenalee thought with pride, as Miranda visibly relaxed with each sip. She talked more freely and laughed more easily, and as she did so the tension in the atmosphere slowly loosened as well.

They learned that despite her clumsiness, she had steady hands and a knack for moving parts, leading to her current career in clock repair. They also learned that her family was from Germany, and that she had quite the extensive family tree memorized. Lenalee didn't recognize a single name that Miranda rattled off, but it was fun to watch the woman once too crippled with anxiety to look them on the eye talk about something that she was interested in.

Lenalee and Lavi shared bits of their own lives, as well. Miranda asked what Lenalee was studying at the university, and the younger woman reluctantly informed her that she was still in the process of deciding. She even tried to coax Kanda into the conversation, but Lavi prevented any harsh disasters by launching into a story about his, apparently quite eventful, job as the school's library assistant.

Before long, the food and wine was gone, and Miranda was rising from her seat to leave. She stopped suddenly, however, seeming to remember something.

"Oh! I almost forgot; I wanted to tell you to please take care. With everything going on, it's best to stay as safe as possible, and out of trouble."

Lenalee frowned at the words. "With everything going on?"

"Er, yes. Didn't you hear about the murder that happened just down the street?"

Lenalee's eyebrows shot into her hairline. "Murder? No, we haven't heard."

"Every fucking time," Kanda murmured into his glass.

Miranda tilted her head. "Sorry?"

"Nothing."

"Anyway, I'm surprised you all didn't know...not that there's anything wrong with that! It's just been on the news all day."

Lenalee laughed nervously. "We don't really have a TV," she said, stealing a glance at Allen, who waved and smiled sheepishly. "And our Internet is pretty spotty."

"Ah, I suppose that's understandable. Then I'm glad I stopped by. Have a good--eep!"

Miranda's foot seemed to catch, and she tripped. Allen instinctively reached out to catch her, but the poor woman fell right through his body and to the floor.

"Careful, miss," the ghost said, reaching out in concern.

"Ah! E-excuse me," she squeaked in emarassment, scrambling to her feet and slipping out the door.

"She almost made it," Lavi said sympathetically, shaking his head.

* * *

"Aw, come on, Yuu," Lavi chuckled. "It wasn't so bad. Miranda was pretty nice, don't you think?"

Lenalee nodded in agreement. "Lavi said it himself, we're pretty crappy tenants. I figured we could start off making a good impression this time."

"I thought it was fun," Allen offered.

" _Nobody asked you,_ " Kanda hissed at the spirit, before addressing his roommate again. "I don't care whether or not she was 'nice.' You could at least ask us before bringing people over into our living space. Especially considering your history."

"And _what_ exactly do you mean by--" she stopped, suddenly remembering her conversation with Lavi earlier that week.

She had to admit, she kind of did have a knack for getting into some...less than savory situations.

"Chimera got your tongue?"

"Okay, okay, I get it. That was kinda rude of me, and it invaded your guys' safe space. From here on out, no more last-minute guests," Lenalee vowed, placing her hand over her heart.

Her cell phone suddenly began ringing, and she finished the device out of her pocket to see her brother's name and contact picture taking up the screen. It was the most recent photo she had of him; he'd just gotten his long, black hair cut down to the nape of his neck, and he was wearing the ridiculous white beret that he'd bought simply because it made her laugh.

"Oh look, the phone's working," Allen remarked with a smile. "I think I'm finally getting the hang of this."

Lenalee rolled her eyes and swiped to answer the phone. "Komui," she greeted, unable to keep the surprise from her voice.

" _My darling sister!_ " Her brother crowed loudly through the phone. She winced at the volume and held the reciever away from her ear.

"Brother, it's good to hear from you. How are you?" She ignored Lavi's rapid shaking of the head and Kanda's increasingly irritated glower. Allen just watched the exchange, silver eyes intrigued.

" _I'm great!_ " Komui replied. " _I'll be even better soon, once I get to see my lovely Lenalee again._ "

Lenalee paused, unsure if she'd understood properly. "Uh. You're back in New Jersey?"

" _Well, not yet. I've got a project that needs my attention coming up in February, back at the main branch._ "

"Oh, wow. That's, uh. That's great, Komui."

" _Isn't it? I haven't visited in what, six months?_ "

"Sounds about right," Lenalee said with a forced chuckle. "You know, brother, we really don't have an extra bedroom..."

" _Oh no, this project is planned to be long term, so I've already rented an apartment in the city, close to work_."

"Oh. Wow. Sounds like you've already planned ahead."

" _Yes, of course! You know me. And you?_ " At this, his voice dropped to a lower, less cheery tone. " _Are you still living with those...boys?_ " He spat the word like acid.

Ah, there it was. She groaned and rolled her eyes. "Yes, brother, I'm still living with Lavi and Kanda. We just recently got a new place, actually."

" _Oh? Was there something wrong with the last one?_ "

"Um. We didn't really get along with our neighbor, that's all."

" _Mr. Graves?_ " Komui asked with surprise. " _I only saw the man once, but he seemed nice enough._ "

 _Yeah, the psychopaths always do_ , Lenalee thought with a grimace. "Living next door to him was a bit of a different story."

" _I'm sorry to hear about that. Do I need--_ "

"No!" She said quickly, not eager to hear the rest of that sentence. "It's really alright, brother. We took care of it. And by that, I mean all three of us."

Komui could almost be heard rolling his eyes. " _Yes, yes, I hear you trying to get those boys on my good side."_

"They're really not so bad. You didn't meet them for very long either, you know."

 " _Long enough._ "

She let out a long, suffering sigh. "If I invite you over for lunch or something, will you promise to behave?"

There was a momentary pause, and she could almost picture the devious smile that her brother wore when he was planning something. If she could get him to agree to behave himself, though, he could be trusted at his word. " _As long as I see that those boys are treating my baby sister well._ "

Lenalee exhaled the breath she'd been holding, both relieved and exasperated. "I can take care of myself, you know."

" _I know, but I don't want you to have to. Listen, I need to go over these blueprints with Reever, but we'll talk soon, right?_ "

"Yeah, of course. Love you. Bye."

Once she'd hung up the phone, she let out another breath through her teeth. "I guess you guys heard that."

"You just cannot control yourself, can you?" Kanda said in lieu of an answer.

"What? What's wrong with Lenalee's brother?" Allen asked, genuinely curious.

"Komui's, like, crazy-protective of the Lenalady," Lavi explained. "Seriously, he's kinda got this...I dunno. It's almost like his glare can see into your soul. Wouldn't you say, Yuu?"

"More like he's got a raging sister-complex."

"Yeah, that too."

"Will you guys calm down and be normal, for once?" Lenalee whined. "That 'raging sister-complex' is my family, and also paying my third of the rent, so I need you guys to be cool. Besides, he said he'd be on his best behavior."

"Whatever," Kanda huffed. "Why am I still living with you two?"

"Because you love us?" Lavi offered. "Besides, you've got three of us, now."

* * *

 

"Why did tonight have to be Kanda's night off?" Tyki groaned as he wiped at the bar with a dry rag. "Saturday is one of the busiest nights of the week."

The girl across the bar giggled at him, sipping at a tall glass of Coke through a straw. The main crowd had already died down as the early morning hours approached, with only a few customers left lingering in various stages of sobriety. "Admit it, uncle Tyki. You just wanna spend some time with Kanda."

"You're imagining things, little one," he told her with a roll of his eyes. "It may not seem like it, but this is quite the stressful job. You should see the clientele that crawl in here on the weekends."

"Speaking of, Road." The two turned to the young man that was seated a few seats to Road's left. He wasn't drinking, but his head was being propped up by his arm on the bar. "I saw your work on Schade and Hallow."

"Aw, impressed, Wisely?" The girl purred with a coy grin.

"Disappointed, more like," Wisely replied. "I mean, I would've expected a cleaner job from you."  
  
Road shrugged, her expression becoming disinterested, but her shoulders tensed almost imperceptibly. "I don't like filthy ghouls touching what's mine, that's all."  
  
Tyki blinked. "Road. Is there something you're not telling us?"

The girl sipped at her drink again before offering him a smile. "Nothing to worry about, uncle Tyki. Could I get a refill?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter kicked my ass, hard. It feels a little meh, too, mostly 'cause it went through so many different drafts, but at least we get to see a little more of Miranda ^^ Poor girl. Lotta dialogue in this one too, huh.
> 
> As always, feedback and constructive criticism is always appreciated! Thanks for being patient with me and reading. And keep being awesome you guys.


	5. Chapter 5

Kanda had been told that he'd get used to working at the Ark. That he might even come to enjoy it. However, even after almost one year, the time he spent at the Ark always put Kanda on edge.

The oversaturation of different smells, for one, made him wonder how no one else found it overwhelming. Then again, he was only just returning to the city, and they didn't have places like the Ark where he came from.

It was far more than the rich smells of liquor. The Ark was one of the few places in the city, or even the region, that specifically catered to residents of the supernatural world, charmed in order to be visible only to those who knew about it. As such, it was constantly filled with the clashing scents and auras of dozens of different species of creature.

Normally, this would be an issue, as a number of these species did not coexist peacefully.They couldn't be governed, of course, because their vast differences in needs and values made such a thing nearly impossible. Instead, there were constant underground wars being waged, unknown to most of the naïve human population.

The Ark, on the other hand, had a zero tolerance policy on violence within its walls, so it was one of the few places in the city where creatures of all sorts came to interact in peace. On the surface, the Ark was a sanctuary. And perhaps that was where others found its appeal, but Kanda quickly saw it as something more complex, especially after he met the bar's respected Noah family.

The Noah took it upon themselves to police the supernatural underworld of Innocence, and while it sounded like a noble venture, the way they went about it still wasn't perfect and caused issues. And those who had issues with the Noah tended to end up on the wrong side of a blade or pair of jaws.

A necessary evil, he supposed. He'd seen what happened when predators were left to run without rules, had been the victim of it himself. If a few troublemakers were killed to keep the water calm, so be it.

"Kanda, why must you manhandle my Baileys?"

Kanda shook himself from his thoughts to look down and blink at the bottle he'd just slammed back on the shelf, nearly cracking the glass in the process. He looked up again at Tyki, who was raising a quizzical eyebrow at him.

"What? I didn't break it this time."

"This time," Tyki repeated for emphasis. "You've been in quite the foul mood lately, even for you. Are you getting enough to eat?"

 At the question, Kanda's teeth clenched. "Yes."

"Oh, I bet it's the new place," the other vampire guessed. "Did you three find yourselves beside another djinn?"

"It was a necromancer, and no. Mind your own business."

"Everyone's business is my business, Kanda. You should know this by now."

 "Not mine."

Tyki barked a laugh. "You're so frigid, Kanda. Fine, suit yourself. Just, please. If you're going to be smashing things around here, please be gentle with my goods," he gestured toward the bottles of liquor lined up on the shelves.

God, Kanda wished he could get drunk.

" _Noah!_ " The pair was interrupted by a loud, booming voice followed by a crash at the doors that threw them open. A tall, broad man with dark hair stormed inside the bar, fists clenched and appearing ready to fight. Kanda tensed and reached for the fruit knife that they kept stashed underneath the bar, but his coworker stayed cool.

The same couldn't be said for their patrons. Half of them could sense the sharp, sour odor of decay emanating from the ghoul, heightened by his rage, which also seemed to radiate from it in waves.

Tyki turned to the owner of the voice and leaned on the counter. "Ah, Franz. How have you been?"

"How have I been?" The man growled. "We had an agreement, Mikk."

"So I'm aware. We've had one for quite awhile, if I'm not mistaken."

"So why? Why would your people kill Leo?"

"Leo?" Tyki parroted and cocked his head, as though it was taking him a moment to put a face to the name. "Young, blond hair, sweet disposition? I remember. I also remember a little bird telling me that Leo was having his meals a little fresher than usual."

Franz raised his voice. "Bullshit! That woman was already dead! He never killed anyone!"

Tyki paused, considering his words. "Are you able to prove who did? I was under the impression that ghouls didn't _leave_ much evidence."

Franz recoiled. "We could have explained! He was just a boy, and an innocent one at that. Your attack dog went too far. Which one was it? Bell? Kamelot?"

"I think you need to sit down, my friend." Tyki's smile was gone, and his tone had gained a sharp edge, but he otherwise remained civil.

The ghoul, on the other hand, began to tremble as though the other man had personally offended him. "It was Kamelot, I know it. You'd better watch that bitch, her kind break easy."

Tyki stiffened, his pupils constricting to become almost invisible within gold irises. "I'm sorry. I must have heard you incorrectly. One doesn't simply threaten a member of the Noah clan with such disrespect. Especially a filthy ghoul who lets its spawn run wild."

Kanda was over the bar and driving the ghoul's face into the counter the moment it unsheathed its vicious, shark-like teeth. Glasses shattered and littered the surface, cutting into the ghoul's face as it snarled and tried to throw him off, but the vampire was stronger and held him with an iron grip.

"You bastards! You killed my son," Franz shrieked, voice dissolving into sobs. "You killed my son...we won't forgive this!"

"Tread carefully with your words around here," Tyki warned. "Kanda, could you escort him outside?"

The man struggled once again. "I'm not done with you yet!"

"Yes, Franz, we are done. The Ark is a place of peace, and you have disturbed this peace. You will not attempt to contact the Noah until our agreed-upon appointments. That is how our business works. I'll see you then."

Kanda wrapped an arm around the man's throat, safely out of reach of his teeth, and dragged him out the front door.

"Get off!" The ghoul snapped, and once they were outside, Kanda kicked the man away from him. The ghoul snarled at him with his jagged teeth bared as he stumbled to the hard ground, and Kanda's face twisted in distaste.

"You dumbass. If you attack him, I'm going to be mopping up an oily stain, and I just cleaned that fuckin' floor."

"You think just because you're their pet that you're better than me? You're just as bad as them, filthy vampire."

Kanda gritted his teeth, forcing himself to keep from lashing out at the creature. "Do yourself a favor, and get your pack out of town," he told him instead.

With that, he turned and walked back inside. Skin had already emerged from the depths of the back room, and was sweeping the glass shards from the bar and floor. It was quite the picture, a man with the build of a refrigerator wearing an apron and wielding a broom that looked like a toothpick in his large hands.

Tyki was leaning on the bar and seemed to have poured himself a shot of the ginjinha that he kept stashed under the bar, just for himself. He nodded at Kanda in acknowledgment as the vampire approached before downing the shot.

"The fuck was that?" Kanda snapped. If the confrontation with the ghoul hadn't had the rest of the patrons on edge, the lingering aura of murder the bartender was exuding certainly did.

"Now look who cares about someone else's business," Tyki said, already pouring himself another shot.

"I don't," Kanda defended. "But I tend to get testy when ghouls come around causing trouble."

"You're always testy," Tyki pointed out, but his heart wasn't in the banter. "You know how it is. You can't let even a child get away with the slightest deviation. While her presentation might have been a little...colorful, I trust Road's judgement."

"Of course it was her," Kanda muttered. "Because she's capable of making mature and reasonable decisions."

Road had always made Kanda uneasy. He had killed people too, of course. Innocent people, even. But he was a monster, and that was what monsters did. Monsters like him were predictable.

Those like Road were truly something for even him to be wary of, because their motivations weren't as simple as hunger, or instinct. They were harder to predict, especially when they had little to lose.

Tyki waved a hand. "Spare me. I already heard it from Wisely."

"Great. The esper's back."

"Aren't you grateful that I warned you?"

"Whatever."

"Anyway, thanks for worrying, but each of the Noah is perfectly capable of defending themselves, and that includes Road."

"Who the hell said I was worrying? My life would be easier without your creepy-ass cult around anyway."

* * *

"Hey, Lenalee! Look! I got it to move!"

Lenalee looked over at Allen from her place in the kitchen, where she was sleepily sipping at her coffee. The instant stuff took awhile to get used to, but it was the best idea they could come up with short of permanently banning Allen from the kitchen.

The ghost was nearly bouncing in his spot at the coffee table when Lenalee turned, one of her textbooks laying in front of him with only the cover page thrown open.

"Er, good job, Allen."

The young man beamed, but his expression fell slightly. "I haven't been able to do it again, though. Do you think you could...?"

"Yeah, no problem," she said with a smile, approaching the ghost. "Where'd you leave off?"

"Twenty seven."

Lenalee turned to the desired page. "What are you reading, anyway?"

" _Principles of Sociology_. Oh! This one too?" He asked, gesturing toward _Contempary Applications of 19th Century History._

"Yeah. You want my notes for these, too?" She asked, pulling the scrap pieces of notebook paper from between the pages.

"Could I?" He asked, eyes wide. "You don't need these?"

"Knock yourself out. I wish I could be as excited to study as you."

"I wonder if I went to college? When I was alive, I mean."

Lenalee paused, thoughtful. "I never considered that. You seem like the right age for a freshman." 

 _Same as her._ What would it be like, having her life ripped away from her at this very moment?

Her phone buzzed in her pocket suddenly. Puzzled, she dug it out and looked at it only to find that the screen wouldn't turn on. She raised an eyebrow at Allen, who put his hands up in surrender.

"Yeah, I'll go to the kitchen," he said with a long, suffering sigh as he dragged himself to his feet.

"Thanks, Allen!" Lenalee said sweetly as he passed. She pressed the power button again, and this time the machine reluctantly flickered to life. When she found that she'd recieved a text, she thought it might be Komui again, but instead she found that it was from an unrecognized number.

**> Lenaleeee**

**> Um**

**> Who is this?**

**> Guess**

**> Everyone who should have my number is in my contacts already**

**> So no, can't really guess**

**> Aw ur no fun**

**> Some friend u are**

**>.....**

**> Wait**

**> Is this Road Kamelot?!**

**> Yesss~! 1st try!**

**> How'd you get this number??**

**> Shh its a secret**

**> Hey u should come get dessert with me**

**> What? It's 6 am**

**> So?**

**> Theres a cute place down the street**

**> Sells like, this rlly good shortcake and i wanna try it**

**> Right now?**

**> Duh, right now**

**> Ive been out here like 5 mins alrdy**

**> Check ur window**

**> What**

**> What do you mean**

**> At my apartment?**

Lenalee darted to the window and peeked out the curtain, and sure enough Road was standing out on the sidewalk, staring up at the window. She was dressed in her usual gothic style that showed way too much skin for the East Coast Autumn, leaning on a long, pink umbrella.

When she spotted Lenalee, her face split into a wide grin and she waved. Lenalee tentatively waved back before slowly closing the curtain again.

**> ROAD**

**> HOW DID YOU FIND OUT WHERE I LIVE**

**> Lucky guess?**

**> Come down here loser, i want my cake**

**>...Fine, give me 5 minutes**

**> YAY**

Lenalee put her phone away and carded her fingers through her hair, wondering how exactly she'd ended up in this situation. Was this what happened to normal people?

She grabbed her bookbag from the floor and swiped her keys from the kitchen counter, calling to her newest roommate on the way to the front door.

"Hey, Allen? I'm going out."

"This early? I thought you didn't have class until eight." He asked curiously. "The sun's barely even up."

"Yeah, a friend of mine from school dropped by, wants to hang out on short notice."

"Ah. Is she, by any chance, the one that's been throwing pebbles at your bedroom window?"

Lenalee stopped in her tracks and looked back at him. "She _what?_ "

"Yeah, a few minutes ago, it was a little girl in a miniskirt. I waved at her to stop, but she couldn't see me, obviously." He paused, puzzled. "Are you telling me she's in university?"

"Um. Yes." She honestly had no idea what to say other than that. "Anyway, Kanda should be back here pretty soon, so you won't be alone. Need anything?"

"Can I trade Kanda for a puppy instead?"

Lenalee laughed. "Nope, sorry. You're stuck with the three of us like we are. Bye Allen!"

She locked the door behind her and descended the stairs, meeting Road on the sidewalk outside.

"Lenalee!" The petite girl greeted enthusiastically. "It's about time you got here. I've literally been waiting _forever_."

Lenalee rolled her eyes. "Well then, maybe you should've called first."

"You wouldn't have come if I'd called, Miss Fun-Hater."

Lenalee winced in guilt. She'd known Road for nearly three semesters, and it was true that they rarely spent time with each other out of class, and never off-campus.

"Okay, I guess I deserve that. Where're we going?"

"Oh, yeah! It's just down the street here! My cousin Jassie told me about it," she said, linking their arms and half leading, half dragging a surprised Lenalee behind her while she chattered about their destination. As they walked, Road twirled her umbrella with her free hand, almost hitting a few pedestrians who sent her irritated glares.

They finally ducked into a moderate-sized café. It was nearly empty, being so early in the morning, so they didn't have to wait long to order. They did so, and Lenalee grumbled as they began to take their seat in the corner.

"You show up at my apartment at six in the morning, throw rocks at my window, and I _still_ have to pay?"

"So you _did_ hear the rocks! I can't believe you were ignoring me!" The other girl said in mock-offense.

"You still never told me how you got my number. _Or_ my address."

"I told you, lucky guess. Come on, eat your breakfast!"

"I thought this was dessert?" Lenalee said, looking down at the blueberry scone that Road had pestered her into getting. She had to admit, it did look delicious; still warm from the oven, with sugary white glaze poured over the top. The other girl was already digging into a piece of strawberry shortcake, a pleased look on her face.

"Jassie was right, this is _so_ good."

"Is Jassie the cousin that runs the shop that you were talking about? The one nearby."

Road nodded. "Yep! With his brother. You should stop by; it's called Bonds."

"Bonds?" Lenalee repeated. "Huh. I don't remember seeing a place like that around here."

"Well, maybe you'll see it now that you know about it?"

There was a lull in their conversation as the two ate their sweets and Lenalee finished off her latté.

"This is nice, Road. Thanks for inviting me out, even if I had to pay for it."

"Yeah, well, you're pretty much the only friend I've got, so it's not like I had anything better to do."

"Really? I wonder why." Lenalee said dryly, but her smile didn't fade. "You know, to be honest, besides my roommates, I don't really have friends around here either."

"Yeah well, I'm not surprised. You _are_ a weirdo, Lee."

Lenalee waited for a few seconds, but the other girl's expression was completely serious. She began to laugh, causing Road to furrow her brow.

"Why are you laughing at me? That wasn't a joke." The other girl asked. She sounded, for once in all the time that she had known her, genuinely confused, which made Lenalee laugh harder.

"I can't help it. It's like you can't see the irony."

Road huffed. "Like I said, total freakshow."

"Good thing I am, or else I probably wouldn't be able to put up with you."

"What?" She sounded offended, but she was wearing a wicked grin. "Everyone says I'm a delight."

"If you say so. Speaking of, what's the umbrella for? It's not supposed to rain today, is it?"

Road looked down at the device that was leaning against her thigh. "Hey, you never know," she said with a shrug. "Can't be too careful, right?"

"Uh, sure," Lenalee said, before checking her phone. "Hey, we should probably head out if I want to make my first lecture. And I do," she added when Road opened her mouth to make a remark.

"Ugh, I dunno why you'd willingly sign up for an 8am. Gross. But fine, go be a useful member of society or whatever. I guess I'll find something to entertain me."

"Thanks for understanding."

Road huffed again as she stood from her seat. "As if. See you in English, loser."

However, when she turned to leave, she bumped into a tall, middle-aged blonde woman who nearly dropped the single empty cup that she was returning to the counter.

"Oh! I'm sorry, hun," The woman said quickly.

"Watch it," Road said with a sharp tone, before dodging around the woman and slipping toward the door.

Lenalee offered the woman an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry about my friend, she's always like that. Are you alright, Miss?"

The woman straightened her clothing, returning the smile. "You're so sweet. I'll be fine, hun. Don't worry about me."

Lenalee nodded, gathering up her things, and followed her friend out of the sleepy café, feeling oddly content.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ack, another tough one. While it may have been a pain to write, though, it might be my favorite chapter so far. Lot of Kanda POV though, which I wasn't really expecting. Worst part: no Lavi :( Anyways, hope you still like it!
> 
> Ooh, one thing real quick. You might've already gathered, but I'm taking some liberties with the ghoul species, so they're not like the ones seen on Tokyo Ghoul, Supernatural, etc.

**Author's Note:**

> Each chapter will almost certainly be edited at a later point in time, 'cause I'm a mess, haha. Probably just sentence structure, grammar, word choice, etc., but if any big changes are made, I'll make a bold note of it at the beginning of the newest chapter. Anyways! Again, this isn't beta-read, so constructive criticism is appreciated. And with that, I hope the rest of your day (or night) goes well!


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